eG Foodblog: Torakris in the Heartland - Fast Food to Fine Dining

[Lori in PA]

What a great blog this already is -- I can FEEL your pleasure at being home!

[Chufi]

Kristin, what a fun blog. very interesting to read how you experience the food-differences between Japan and the US! And I love that you eat your nostalgia-foods. I guess they become even more nostalgic when you don't have access to them most of the time.

Oh and your kids are even cuter than they were in your last blog

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is that lychee juice in the small packets? I love that!

[torakris]

is that lychee juice in the small packets? I love that!

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Yeah, my kids picked that out when I said I would buy them something...

[torakris]

You need to educate your kids about what constitutes good barbecue sauce.

Even though you are at present about 600 miles away from it, it is possible to do so thanks to the miracle of the Internet and a recipe that Ollie Gates gave up to Martha Stewart on an ancient episode of "From Martha's Kitchen."

If you don't want to order the genuine article, you can make your own.  I posted the recipe to RecipeGullet back in April.  Just search on "Ollie Gates."

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I think that this was hte first time they had ever eaten bottled BBQ sauce, I usually make up my own ose a recipe from one of Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) books.

I found the recipe you were referring to, right here. I am going to have to give it a try.

My dad uses BBQ sauce like ketchup, just today for lunch he ate the leftover rice with some of my fried chicken all covered in a sauce he 'created' with BBQ sauce, ketchup and salsa mixed together. When I was a his favorite sandwich was a thick slice of gooseliver with mayo, peanut butter and pickles...

[prasantrin]

Thinking about coffee, have you ever considered bringing some of those 1-shot brewed coffee things with you from Japan when you go home? It's the kind that comes in a filter--pre-packed to make just one cup, and you pour hot water over it.

Or those little packs of coffee concentrate made by Nescafe and available at Costco (or at least they were, I don't know if they still are).

I'm not a big coffee drinker, but instant coffee just gives me the shivers!

[Kouign Aman]

Thanks for blogging. Your kids are adorable. The food is fun.

A single cup of drip coffee can be made using standard filters, tucked into a funnel, perched on top of a mug. Pour boiling water very carefully.

When I was regularly in a situation where I had the choice of no morning coffee or drinking instant, I resorted to STING caffeinated gum which a friend brought me from Japan.

[racheld]

I am a thrift store junkie.

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Hi, Kris! Welcome to the meeting. I'm the resident dish junkie.

AWWWWW One of my own kind. I just wondered how you get all those groceries and cooking apparati (if there'd been any for half off) home. Lugging a suitcase with just a couple of weeks' worth of souvenirs was a chore after I hit several bookshops.

And I just had a cuppa decaf from one of those little Folger's singles---boiled up the teakettle, poured it on like baptizing a teabag, and it was an acceptable cup for 4 p.m. on a busy day. Chris picked them up by mistake, thinking they might be the pod things for the Senseo. WAAAAAAY better'n any instant.

[edsel]

Is there some dish that is specifically from Cleveland?

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Not that I can think of... fellow Clevelanders are you here? help me out!!

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Wow - that's a tough question! I've lived in Cleveland just over ten years, but I can't think of any food uniquely indigenous to Cleveland except for Dominic Cerino's Blue Egg Ravioli.

Still, when I think "Cleveland Food" - I think pierogi and kielbasa - a reflection of the large Polish and Eastern European population here. The grandmas at some of the local Polish churches still make pierogi to die for! Kris - do we need to get you some of those before you leave??

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Funny, when I saw Michelle's post I thought "pierogi and kielbasa" too! It's not exactly unique to Cleveland, but the Polish and other Eastern European food seems to be popular with just about everyone.

Maybe Kris could make a trip to the West Side Market. There's a pierogi stall there (E5 on vendor map). Plus there's lots of other cool stuff. WSM is one of those great old urban markets - very photogenic.

[racheld]

They separate pocky like signs on restrooms? I can see it now---Food Network borrows from HGTV and the new show is "Pocky for the Sexes."

[Swisskaese]

Cleveland food sounds delicious. I like pierogi and the blue ravioli looks delicious.

Kris, your kids have really grown since the last blog. They are adorable.

Do you feel a bit of culture shock when you visit your parents? I do. The funny thing is that when I took David to the supermarket in Alabama, I was his translator. He wanted to buy salmon and the fish monger (if that's what you want to call him ) didn't understand David and David didn't understand him. It was quite funny. For those of you that don't know, David is originally from England.

Edited July 24, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[monavano]

You need to educate your kids about what constitutes good barbecue sauce.

Even though you are at present about 600 miles away from it, it is possible to do so thanks to the miracle of the Internet and a recipe that Ollie Gates gave up to Martha Stewart on an ancient episode of "From Martha's Kitchen."

If you don't want to order the genuine article, you can make your own.  I posted the recipe to RecipeGullet back in April.  Just search on "Ollie Gates."

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I think that this was hte first time they had ever eaten bottled BBQ sauce, I usually make up my own ose a recipe from one of Ina Garten's (Barefoot Contessa) books.

I found the recipe you were referring to, right here. I am going to have to give it a try.

My dad uses BBQ sauce like ketchup, just today for lunch he ate the leftover rice with some of my fried chicken all covered in a sauce he 'created' with BBQ sauce, ketchup and salsa mixed together. When I was a his favorite sandwich was a thick slice of gooseliver with mayo, peanut butter and pickles...

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I make Ina's bbq sauce a lot. It is my absolute favorite. But I also change it up from time to time and use bottled. I use the recipe from Foodtv.com "chicken barbecue". It took me forever to find it due to the "barbecue" spelling.

Being from Philadelphia (and Polish) I have had some really great home made pierogi's. They are not seen too much in the DC area where I live now.

I've ordered from Buffalo and Pittsburgh so far. It's very much worth it, for me! Are there any good pierogi places who ship from your area? anyone?

Thanks.

edit to add: I love your blogs Kris and am going to read this one cover to cover!

Edited July 24, 2006 by monavano (log)

[MelissaH]

Is there some dish that is specifically from Cleveland?

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Not that I can think of... fellow Clevelanders are you here? help me out!!

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Wow - that's a tough question! I've lived in Cleveland just over ten years, but I can't think of any food uniquely indigenous to Cleveland except for Dominic Cerino's Blue Egg Ravioli.

Still, when I think "Cleveland Food" - I think pierogi and kielbasa - a reflection of the large Polish and Eastern European population here. The grandmas at some of the local Polish churches still make pierogi to die for! Kris - do we need to get you some of those before you leave??

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I'd never heard of sauerkraut balls before I moved to NEO. Might they qualify?

MelissaH

[torakris]

Thinking about coffee, have you ever considered bringing some of those 1-shot brewed coffee things with you from Japan when you go home?  It's the kind that comes in a filter--pre-packed to make just one cup, and you pour hot water over it. 

Or those little packs of coffee concentrate made by Nescafe and available at Costco (or at least they were, I don't know if they still are). 

I'm not a big coffee drinker, but instant coffee just gives me the shivers!

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I actually had a bunch of those 1-shot brew things in my cupboard in Japan...it never occured to me to bring them.

[torakris]

AWWWWW   One of my own kind.  I just wondered how you get all those groceries and cooking apparati (if there'd been any for half off) home.  Lugging a suitcase with just a couple of weeks' worth of souvenirs was a chore after I hit several bookshops.

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Remember I have three kids travelling with me. That means 8 suitcase/boxes. The new weight limit is going to hurt me this year though, up until this year each suitcase/box could weigh 70lbs, this year it is down to 50lbs. They will be easier to carry though.

I told myself I wasn't going to get too many books this year, but I have already bought more than 10....

[torakris]

Do you feel a bit of culture shock when you visit your parents? I do.

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Major culture shock, actually I feel like a foreigner here. I moved to Japan straight out of college and don't really know how to do many of the typical day to day things here. I get panicky when I make reservations for things because I have no idea what to say, I no longer know how to tip and I would have no idea how to open a bank account. I haven't written a check in over twelve years and last summer was the first time I pumped gas in about 7 or 8 years....

[Kouign Aman]

If it were me, I'd save room in the suitcases for food and ship the books surface mail, by the very slowboat.

[torakris]

I'd never heard of sauerkraut balls before I moved to NEO. Might they qualify?

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I remember reading about them before in another thread on Ohio foods and I have never seen one before.

Not growing up Polish I may have missed out on some of these foods. Most of my food influences are from my Italy-born grandparents.

[torakris]

If it were me, I'd save room in the suitcases for food and ship the books surface mail, by the very slowboat.

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That will probably be the only choice I have if I go over the weight limit. I already have 3 of 8 boxes/suitcases packed and I don't leave until 8/8.

[prasantrin]

Remember I have three kids travelling with me. That means 8 suitcase/boxes. The new weight limit is going to hurt me this year though, up until this year each suitcase/box could weigh 70lbs, this year it is down to 50lbs. They will be easier to carry though.

Are you still flying Continental? I know United still allows 70lbs for flights to Japan. If you don't have that many air miles left with Continental, you might want to consider switching just for that! But at least with a 50lb limit, you'll end up spending less money when filling those bags!

I have an AMEX card, so I get free porter service with my bags. I love it! When leaving Japan they carry your bags right to the check-in counter so you don't have to touch them at all. And I get to ship 1 bag home for free. Those perks make the service fee worth it, in my opinion.

Back to food, I was thinking about your kids. I know they eat a diverse diet when in Japan, but with all the fatty, salty, greasy stuff in the US, do they have a day or two of stomach upsets?

And not about food, when in the US, do they still speak Japanese with you, or do they switch to English?

They look like they've grown quite a lot since December! They're still as cute as ever!

[torakris]

I spent a nice part of the afternoon sitting on the front porch with a good book and a glass (ok a snoopy tumbler) of my dad's sun tea. He has been making this as long as I can remember, this year he is brewing it with one bag of raspberry tea and a couple regular ones and then throwing in some mint leaves when he puts it in the refrigerator. It is quite good. I added a half a packet of sweet and low.

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

At least 1/2 price books is a just a couple stores down....

[Hiroyuki]

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

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OK, that's what I'm expecting to read and see!

And don't forget to upload some pictures of your father's garden!

[Jason Perlow]

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

At least 1/2 price books is a just a couple stores down....

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What, the kids were missing their Playstation or Gamecube already? Had to satisfy the video game withdrawal?

[edsel]

What, the kids were missing their Playstation or Gamecube already? Had to satisfy the video game withdrawal?

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It's not just the video games. With any luck, Kris took her camera along. Pictures of the rat will explain things the international audience may not want to know.

It's an eGullet first!

[Palladion]

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

At least 1/2 price books is a just a couple stores down....

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Ha, I was just at that 1/2 Price Books earlier today. I noticed the nearby Chuck E Cheese and wondered if that was the one that you'd be going to.

Find anything good there?

-------

Alex Parker

[racheld]

And now for what may be an eGullet foodblog first! Dinner at Chuck E Cheese!

At least 1/2 price books is a just a couple stores down....

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A tradeoff is a tradeoff. Two hours of frenetic music, children running in all directions (we swear that once our Grand #1 changed direction and ran entirely out from under her ponytail), and huge mechanical rodents dressed in leftover wardrobe from Deliverance, moving just enough to make your napeskin tickle.

Good thing you're not videotaping---that one scene alone could set tourism back fifty years.

Then BookHeaven!!! Our favourite bookstore, and we have THREE branches!!! After "dinner" you'll deserve some browse-time.